What were the 5 most popular practical shepherding blog posts of 2012?

Happy new year! It has been a fruitful year of discussion on this blog. I continue to be so grateful for your support and insightful contributions. Keep them coming as we expand this year. Now, on to the top posts. Again, I picked them, not just based on numbers of hits, but those that struck up a great conversation and seemed to be a hot button that needed to be addressed. Based on that criteria, here are my top 5 from 2012: